Wall Repeats as MGA Junior Player of the Year
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (November 1, 2019) – For the second straight year, the Metropolitan Golf Association is pleased to announce Jack Wall of Brielle, N.J., as the recipient of the MGA Junior Player of the Year Award, Presented by Callaway. Thanks to yet another consistent season, Wall becomes the first two-time winner of the honor, which is in its third year. The MGA will recognize Wall and his achievement during its 122nd Annual Meeting & Dinner on Wednesday, December 4 at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y.
Related: MGA Junior Player of the Year | Standings
The MGA Junior Player of the Year Award, Presented by Callaway, was established to recognize excellence among the highly talented junior competitors in the Met Area, with an emphasis put on the region’s top junior events including the Met Junior Championship Sponsored by MetLife and the Carter Cup, the MGA’s invitational junior stroke play championship. Similar to the MGA Jerry Courville Sr. Player of the Year Award, a season-long points race helps determine the recipient.
“It means a lot to me to be the first two-time winner of the award,” said Wall, 18, who has continued his strong play in his first collegiate season at University of South Carolina. “To end my junior golf career with this award is really special to me.”
Advancing to match play in the U.S. Junior Amateur, finishing as runner-up in the New Jersey Amateur and advancing to the quarterfinal of the Met Amateur highlighted Wall’s summer. All three of those results earned Wall 100 or more points in the season-long point race, which has captured the attention of the Met Area’s top juniors since its introduction in 2017.
Wall’s steady summer also included him advancing to U.S. Open sectional qualifying, logging his fourth career top-10 finish in the Carter Cup and finishing as runner-up in New Jersey’s William Y. Dear Junior. Making the cut at both the Ike and New Jersey State Open also earned him points, ultimately leading him to the top of the listing with 571 points.
“The strong points of my game this summer were my driving and ball striking,” said Wall, a graduate of Christian Brothers Academy. “I was also really proud with the improvements I made to my wedge game throughout the season.”
MGA eClub – Hudson Valley member Nathan Han, who finished third in the Ike and second in his sixth Carter Cup appearance, finished second with 480 points on the season. Met Junior runner-up and New York State Boys’ Junior winner Luke Sample, a MGA eClub – New York City member, ranked third with 461 points. Carter Cup champion Ben Carpenter of Darien, Conn., and Met Junior champion Will Celiberti of Ridgewood, N.J., rounded out the top five with 400 and 390 points, respectively.
The MGA welcomed Callaway Golf as the Association’s championships partner in January of 2017. Elements of the partnership included Callaway tying its name to some of the country’s oldest and most prestigious championships including the Met Open and becoming the launch sponsor for the MGA’s first-ever Junior Player of the Year Award.